Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Heart Rate Variability - Data Handling


One heartbeat signal from Polar Chest Strap displayed in Audacity with Beat Finder marking.




Four heartbeats captured from a Polar Chest Strap displayed in Audacity using Beat Finder



Recording the signal from a heart rate monitor like Polar or Pro-Form using the Polar Heart Rate Module - RMCM01 from Sparkfun proved less complex than other techniques. Here is one of the best:


diy-ecg-machine-on-the-cheap


Audacity Beat Finder converted the audio signal into a text file of with every R-R interval time, and that signal is as accurate as an EKG.

The breakthrough came from this article. The Kubios software installed efficiently on both Windows and Ubuntu.

The details and pictures will follow. Budget Biofeedback has a table at the Ann Arbor Maker Faire on June 6, 2010. See you there.